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The absent notes were piled high on Pat Quinn's desk yesterday at practice, with at least a couple of Maple Leafs in doubt to attend Saturday's exam in Ottawa.

Though Eric Lindros worked out with his bum right wrist, he can't yet hold a hockey stick with two hands and there were no on-ice sightings of Ed Belfour, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi, Nik Antropov or Mats Sundin at Lakeshore Lions Arena.

The only one without an injury is Sundin, who was getting a checkup from eye specialist Dr. Rob Devenyi. It was a followup from his broken left orbital bone that kept the captain out from Oct. 8 until Nov. 3.

Quinn was most vague on Antropov, who suffered a lower-body injury late in Monday's 3-2 win over Anaheim, possibly a repeat of his knee problems. Domi had a shoulder checked out after a crash into the boards in the Anaheim game.

"We're not clear at this point from Nik to Tie," Quinn said. "There's a little problem there (with Domi), but it has settled down and we'll just keep a close eye on it.

"Mats will be there (Saturday), Darcy should be all right and we're expecting Eddie will be fine."

Tucker was excused for what Quinn called "soreness".

Belfour has been scratched since early Monday because of groin issues.

"The reason we made the change (to Mikael Tellqvist) the other night was to be cautious so that Eddie didn't injure it further," Quinn said. "He wanted to go this morning, but our trainers held him back."

Ironically, the Leafs had all seven defencemen going yesterday, including Staffan Kronwall, who is nearing a return after two weeks with a sprained MCL.

"We won't have a roster problem if some of those injured guys can't play, but if everyone were healthy, we'd have to worry about (numbers)," Quinn said, referring to Kronwall's return putting the team one man over the roster limit of 23.